With the release of Microsoft's "don't stop buying our stuff now" called the Windows 7 Upgrade program, Microsoft stated that the company is making Upgrade Kits available for owners of Windows XP and Windows Vista. If for some reason if you don't have the upgradeable version of Windows but want to get Windows 7, buying Windows 7 by itself might not be the best bang for buck.
We decided to check out Newegg and saw the prices of OEM versions of Windows Vista. Usually, Microsoft will limit the OEM install to a single motherboard, yada yada yada, but not this time around. If you purchase Windows Vista now, you get a free Windows 7 Upgrade coupon. If you buy Vista Home Premium, you'll get an upgrade coupon for Windows 7 Home Premium.
For example, the official Microsoft price for Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade is set at $119.99 [discounted to $49.99 for the next two weeks], while the full version of Win7 HP is $199.99. But if you buy Windows Vista Home Premium [either 32-bit or the 64-bit versions], you save 10 bucks over Microsoft's price.
Things get even more interesting if you want to get the Ultimate version. Microsoft's official pricing dictates the price of Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade to $219.99, while the full version will set you back for massive $319.99. However, "Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 with Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade" sells in either 32-bit or the 64-bit version for only $189.99. This is nothing else but a clear $30 savings over the upgrade and a massive $130 in savings! When it comes to buying or upgrading a computer, $130 can go quite the distance - 4GB DDR3-1333 memory and a 1TB SATA drive, for instance.
Who would have known that we are going to say this, but some versions of Windows Vista are actually a great value [now].
